VICTORIAN CRAFT AWARDS

The biennial open craft competition for Victorian craft makers in any media

GENERAL INFORMATION

ABOUT THE VICTORIAN CRAFT AWARDS

The Victorian Craft Awards is a biennial event facilitated by Craft Victoria in the pursuit of presenting and celebrating excellence in contemporary craft practice. The award welcomes emerging, mid career and established craftspeople across the state of Victoria and anticipates applications of individual works and installations utilising craft skills, processes and materials.

Established in 2015, the 2017 Victorian Craft Awards will again select up to 100 artists for a finalists exhibition.

FINALISTS’ EXHIBITION VENUES from 3 June - 8 July

Craft Victoria

Collins Place Gallery

Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

KEY DATES

Entries openFriday 10 February 2017

Entries closeSunday 2 April 2017

Announcement of exhibiting finalistsEarly May 2017

Finalists’ work to be delivered to Craft VictoriaBy Monday 22 May 2017

FAQ'S

Q: WHAT IS CRAFT? IS MY WORK CRAFT ENOUGH?A: The Victorian Craft Award is INCLUSIVE. We welcome all materials and processes – and are seeking traditional, contemporary and experimental works to represent the industry in the award and the exhibition. The interpretation at application stage is open to the applicant.

From the Terms and Conditions: For the purposes of the Victorian Craft Award, ‘craft’ is defined as a practice involving skill using ceramics, glass, textiles, wood, metal or other material to create experimental, contemporary and traditional forms.

Q: CAN I SUBMIT A BODY OF WORK (like series of bowls or vases) OR DOES EACH ENTRY HAVE TO BE ONE INDIVIDUAL PIECE?A: Each entry is for one body of work – if you have a series or an installation of work that is to be viewed and sold together (say like a Gwynn Hanssen Pigott installation) then that is one entry. We anticipate most entries will be individual works, unless a set.

Q: I MAKE COLLABORATIVE WORK, BUT THERE’S ONLY ONE NAME FIELD ON THE FORM - CAN I STILL ENTER?A: YES! In the Name Field put in one person’s name who is part of the collaboration and will be the key contact person. List the collaborative artists in the ‘Your practice’ section.

Q: THE PIECE I WANT TO ENTER HAS ALREADY BEEN SOLD - CAN I STILL ENTER THAT PIECE?A: Each item shortlisted needs to be available for exhibition. Not all entries need to be for sale, however each item must be available on the dates specified in the Terms and Conditions.

Q: HOW MANY TIMES CAN I ENTER?A: You can enter as many times as you like, with one piece (individual or set) per application – an entry fee will be required for each entry.

Q: WHY IS THE HIGHEST PRIZE A JEWELLERY AWARD? A: We are welcoming award sponsors for additional categories in glass, textiles, wood, sculpture and other mediums. At this stage we have four categories of awards, Jewellery, Excellence, Ceramics and Chairman’s Prize. Both the Excellence Award and Chairman’s Prize encompasses all materials and could be awarded to any medium.

Q: HAVE I BEEN PRACTICING TOO LONG TO BE ELIGIBLE?A: We are anticipating (and encourage) a strong cross section of emerging, mid-career and established makers in the competition and in the exhibition.

Q: I’D LIKE TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT THE AWARD PROCESSA: Olivia Poloni is Victorian Craft Awards Project Manager and can be contacted via victoriancraftaward@craft.org.au

Q: WHO GETS THEIR WORK IN THE EXHIBITION?A: 80-100 applicants will be shortlisted through a process of “blind selection” that means that names will be removed from the images, work will be selected on its merits not on the maker. The shortlisted artists will be presented across multiple venues.

Q: WHERE ARE THE EXHIBITIONS? CAN I CHOOSE WHERE MY WORK GOES?A: Craft’s Curator and Executive Director will curate the final exhibitions and will determine the position of the works. The exhibition venues will be Craft Victoria along with other exhibition venues to be announced.